Less Is More: Why Audio on SoundCloud Looks Different
https://developers.soundcloud.com/blog/less-is-more-why-soundcloud-low-passes-its-aac-transcodings/
https://developers.soundcloud.com/blog/less-is-more-why-soundcloud-low-passes-its-aac-transcodings/
Soundcloud
Less Is More: Why Audio on SoundCloud Looks Different
Last year, SoundCloud upgraded its AAC encoder for the first time in over a decade. The new one (Fraunhofer’s libfdk_aac) delivers higher perceptual audio quality across every metric we track. But if you look at a spectrogram, you may notice something unexpected.…
Modder Runs GTA III Inside GTA: San Andreas on an In-Game TV
https://videocardz.com/newz/modder-runs-gta-iii-inside-gta-san-andreas-on-an-in-game-tv
https://videocardz.com/newz/modder-runs-gta-iii-inside-gta-san-andreas-on-an-in-game-tv
Heavy TV watching associated with smaller brain structures, study finds
https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/heavy-tv-watching-associated-with-smaller-brain-structures/
https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/heavy-tv-watching-associated-with-smaller-brain-structures/
USC Dornsife News
Heavy TV watching associated with smaller brain structures, study finds
Reduced volume was found in areas of the brain connected to memory formation, indicating a potential link between TV watching and higher dementia risk.
A new Intel Itanium (IA-64) emulator that boots Windows
https://raymii.org/s/blog/Intel_Itanium_IA-64-Emulator_that_boots_Windows.html
https://raymii.org/s/blog/Intel_Itanium_IA-64-Emulator_that_boots_Windows.html
AI advice made people 3x less accurate but 2x confident, researchers found
https://thenextweb.com/news/ai-advice-suppresses-critical-thinking-wrong-answers-study
https://thenextweb.com/news/ai-advice-suppresses-critical-thinking-wrong-answers-study
TNW
AI advice made people three times less accurate but twice as confident, researchers found
A study found that access to AI advice collapsed people's willingness to say "I don't know" from 44% to 3%, while accuracy dropped from 27% to 9%.
How to Abandon Your Climate Commitments and Get Away with It
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/17/climate/company-climate-change-commitments-renege.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/17/climate/company-climate-change-commitments-renege.html
Nytimes
How to Abandon Your Climate Commitments and Get Away With It
Big business made big promises about saving the planet. Following through hasn’t been easy.
We want Texans to know their rights
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/07/we-want-texans-know-their-rights-qa-mayday-health-impact-surveillance-abortion
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/07/we-want-texans-know-their-rights-qa-mayday-health-impact-surveillance-abortion
Electronic Frontier Foundation
"We Want Texans to Know Their Rights": Q&A with Mayday Health on the Impact of Surveillance on Abortion Care
Last May, EFF reported that a sheriff’s office in Texas searched data from more than 83,000 automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras to track down a woman suspected of self-managing an abortion.
CO2 overload in blood suggests toxic atmosphere within 50 years
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-026-01918-5
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-026-01918-5
SpringerLink
Carbon dioxide overload, detected in human blood, suggests a potentially toxic atmosphere within 50 years
Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health - Anthropogenic activities are increasing the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. There is mounting experimental evidence that lifetime exposure...
DeKalb deputy charged with Flock camera misuse; more Georgia officers fired
https://www.ajc.com/news/2026/07/3-more-georgia-police-officers-fired-over-alleged-flock-camera-misuse/
https://www.ajc.com/news/2026/07/3-more-georgia-police-officers-fired-over-alleged-flock-camera-misuse/
ajc
DeKalb deputy charged with Flock camera misuse; more Georgia officers fired
Police say the license plate readers help locate suspects and solve crimes, but a growing number of critics say the technology amounts to an invasion of privacy.
Claude Fable produced a counterexample to the Jacobian Conjecture
https://xcancel.com/__alpoge__/status/2079028340955197566
https://xcancel.com/__alpoge__/status/2079028340955197566
Nitter
levent (@__alpoge__)
hello there the jacobian conjecture is false thanx to my close friend akhil for asking about it and my other close friend fable for working during the world cup final
((1+xy)^3 z + y^2 (1+xy) (4+3xy), y + 3 x (1+xy)^2 z + 3 x y^2 (4+3xy), 2 x - 3 x^2 y…
((1+xy)^3 z + y^2 (1+xy) (4+3xy), y + 3 x (1+xy)^2 z + 3 x y^2 (4+3xy), 2 x - 3 x^2 y…
Big Tech Needs to Justify AI Spending as Investors Dump Stocks
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-19/big-tech-needs-to-justify-ai-spending-as-investors-dump-stocks
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-19/big-tech-needs-to-justify-ai-spending-as-investors-dump-stocks
Bloomberg.com
Big Tech Needs to Justify AI Spending as Investors Dump Stocks
After last week’s wipeout in chips and the broader selloff in technology stocks, pressure is building for the biggest spenders on artificial intelligence to justify their expenditures to beleaguered traders with increasingly itchy fingers hovering over their…
How proprietary formats have become Microsoft’s main tool for lock-in
https://blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2026/07/17/microsofts-main-tool-for-lock-in/
https://blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2026/07/17/microsofts-main-tool-for-lock-in/
TDF Community Blog
How proprietary formats have become Microsoft's main tool for lock-in - TDF Community Blog
In the previous article, we explored the importance of standards: how the unspoken agreements governing electrical sockets, paper sizes and file formats form the foundations of a world in which choices remain open and power is not concentrated in the hands…
EU Exempts Apple Watch and AirPods from Battery Removal Requirements
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2026/07/17/eu-exempts-apple-watch-and-airpods-from-battery-removal-requirement/
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2026/07/17/eu-exempts-apple-watch-and-airpods-from-battery-removal-requirement/
Mjtsai
Michael Tsai - Blog - EU Exempts Apple Watch and AirPods From Battery Removal Requirement
US gas prices hit an average of $4 a gallon again
https://apnews.com/article/gas-prices-iran-war-4-gallon-4b82825734ec3ded192351e53a4be69e
https://apnews.com/article/gas-prices-iran-war-4-gallon-4b82825734ec3ded192351e53a4be69e
AP News
US gas prices back up to an average of $4 a gallon as Iran war heats up
U.S. gas prices have jumped to an average of $4 a gallon again as the U.S. and Iran launch more attacks.
The Trump administration's Threat to Scientific Research
https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/07/the-trump-administrations-threat-to-scientific-research.html
https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/07/the-trump-administrations-threat-to-scientific-research.html
Marginal REVOLUTION
The Trump Administration’s Threat to Scientific Research
In The Nationalization of American Science I warned that the Trump administration’s rewriting of the seemingly mundane Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance was a tremendous threat to America’s historically successful decentralized system of science…
The EU is about to sell our most sensitive data to the US for visa-free travel
https://edri.org/our-work/the-eu-is-about-to-sell-our-most-sensitive-data-to-the-us-for-visa-free-travel/
https://edri.org/our-work/the-eu-is-about-to-sell-our-most-sensitive-data-to-the-us-for-visa-free-travel/
European Digital Rights (EDRi)
The EU is about to sell our most sensitive data to the US for visa-free travel - European Digital Rights (EDRi)
The leaked draft text suggests that the Commission significantly caved in to US’s excessive demands for unfettered information access.